Scientists predict 'mini ice age' will hit in 15 years

Scientists warn that the Earth is just 15 years away from experiencing a "mini ice age" — something that hasn't happened in 300 years.

Researchers in the U.K. created a new model of the Sun's solar cycles that allows them to make extremely accurate predictions of changes in solar activity like never before.

Solar cycles typically last 11 years and during that time, the north and south magnetic poles flip. It looks a lot like a heartbeat when graphed out. We're currently in Cycle 24.

The solar scientists say that the latest model shows the Sun's magnetic waves will become offset in Cycle 25 which peaks in 2022. Then, in Cycle 26, solar activity will fall by 60 per cent during between 2030 and 2040 causing this "mini ice age".

Professor Valentina Zharkova, who presented the findings at the National Astronomy Meeted in Wales, said, "In cycle 26, the two waves exactly mirror each other – peaking at the same time but in opposite hemispheres of the Sun. Their interaction will be disruptive, or they will nearly cancel each other."

So what does that mean for us? Pretty much what you'd expect.

Bitter cold winters — cold enough to freeze River Thames in England, which is exactly what happened when the last "mini ice age" hit between 1645 and 1715.